Filamentary materials include, but are not limited to, fibers in single and multiple strands, flat bands, or tubing produced in long lengths and conveniently wound on spools. The various filamentary materials may be either natural or synthetic fibers, glass or metal. Filamentary materials may also be referred to as wire, cords or coiled strands. Such materials are commonly utilized as reinforcements for plastic or elastomeric compounds or may themselves be fabricated into integral items as in the textile industry, hose industry or the tire industry. In order to have available in a manageable form substantial lengths of cord, it is commonly known to employ spools upon which the filamentary material is mounted for storage and from which the filamentary material may be paid out by rotation of the spools about the longitudinal axis thereof. Regardless of the application, it is customary to withdraw the filamentary material from the spool at or near the location it is being used. To facilitate such removal, the spool is customarily mounted on a spindle or let-off device which permits the spool to rotate as the filament is withdrawn.
There are various types of manufacturing processes which involve the combination of a plurality of filamentary strands of material which during processing are combined with each other, with other materials or both. Where it is necessary to combine a plurality of such strands of material during either continuous or intermittent manufacturing operations, it is frequently convenient that the strands be coiled such as to provide the capability of continuously feeding out substantial lengths of the strands. One such example of the employment of spools to store and pay out strands is involved in the rubber industry where it is common to simultaneously employ a plurality of steel cords which are stored on and dispensed from spools. The spools are normally mounted in an array which is commonly referred to as a creel. While creels may differ in various details they commonly consist of an array of spindles which are mounted in a substantially vertical frame work having spindles which may project in one or both directions therefrom. The spools typically have a diameter of approximately ten inches and a longitudinal dimension of a foot, although other dimensions may be employed in some instances. The spools have a hollow core which inwardly receives a creel spindle and which outwardly carries steel cord or other filamentary material repetitively coiled within the confines of the spool flanges. Creels commonly array the spindles in rectangular configurations projecting from the framework in arrangements which may conveniently have six spindles high and a multitude of spindles long or in some instances five spindles high and a multitude of spindles long. This type of arrangement places spindles from a position just above the ground to approximately six feet off the ground taking into account the necessary spacing between spindles as a result of the diameter of the spools which may be on the order of ten inches and of the necessary spacing between spindles to effect requisite control over pay out and tensioning of the strands. Spools employed for steel cord are normally of a construction such that, while the spool is of relatively light metal material, the full spool with its capacity of steel cords approaching the radially outer extremity of the flanges may weigh on the order of forty to one hundred pounds.
In order to set up a manufacturing run using prior creel systems, the technician will load all of the spools onto the appropriate spindles. Next, the filamentary material that is maintained on each spool is threaded through a tension controller and then manually pulled to an end of the creel to a filamentary material organizer. The user must ensure that the filamentary material is delivered to the correct position on the organizer so as to ensure that the next manufacturing processes are completed as desired. This process is repeated for all the spools loaded onto the creel. After the filamentary materials are fully loaded into the organizer, they are then taken to a calender or like machinery for further processing.
The current machinery and method of use is problematic for a number of reasons. The primary problem is the manual transfer of the material from the spool to the organizer. Skilled artisans will appreciate that this is a time consuming operation, especially if there are a large number of spools maintained by the creel. In view of this time consuming operation, it is customary for manufacturers to maintain two creel systems side-by-side. Accordingly, as one creel is fully set up and operating, the other creel is loaded and threaded so as to maintain continuous operation of the calender or other similar manufacturing station. In any event, the current manual method of pulling filamentary material from the spools is also problematic in that the steel cords, also referred to as wires, are sometimes misplaced or tangled while being transferred from the spool to the organizer. It is known to use comb-like devices to transfer the filamentary materials from several spools to the organizer. However, only a few wires can be transferred at any one time. This method also is still problematic in that the wires may become tangled or the operator may mis-locate the filamentary material in the comb which later results in the filamentary material being misplaced in the organizer. It will further be appreciated that the pull-off forces of the filamentary material can become substantial which results in difficulty in pulling the cords from the spools maintained on the row closest to the floor and for those spools that are maintained on a top row, which is in most instances is commonly six feet in height.
In view of the shortcomings of the current creel systems, there is a need in the art for an automated creel threader that simplifies the filamentary material organization process, wherein it is desired for the process to be faster, provide less tangling for the filamentary material, provide safety features and improve the overall operation of the creel system. Indeed, there is a need in the art for automated creel systems that reduce labor, and remove difficult and tedious operation.